Trans-Fi Terminator Tonearm: 2019 Update

@ledoux1238: So we are fellow owners of both the ET-LFT loudspeakers (a hi-fi best buy) and the Terminator!

If you get yourself an ET arm, know that Brooks Berdan (the dealer at which I heard the LFT-8 and subsequently bought them) preferred the VPI HW-19 (and later the TNT) for that arm, a combo he sold lots of (I believe Brooks was Bruce Thigpen’s number one dealer). The ET arm has enough moving mass to cause low mass/lightly-sprung turntables to shift their center of gravity as the arm traverses the LP. Not good.

I have my Terminator mounted on a VPI Aries (with a TNT-5 platter and bearing).

@qwin

Wow! The resuscitated and reinvigorated Terminator has really got your juices flowing… really nice work on the silver cables. You use a junction box to terminate the phono wires from the Terminator. Why don’t you run it direct to the phono stage? Phono cables from Andrey came as a direct run, and then I use a pair of Duelund silver foil cables  between a tube phono and a SUT.

if your lengthy erudition is considered a minor rant, I’d hate to be in the head wind of one of your major rants…ha! Kidding aside, I appreciate your thoughts. I think I am in agreement with your attitude toward our hobby, and it’s a hobby. I do rely on reviews for the most part as I hate to interact with dealers in my part of the world, mostly arrogant know-it-all. There is a very vibrant DIY community and a lot of shops that does OEM work ‘for ‘unnamed’ European or US brands. 
 

@bdp24 you are the guru who turned me onto the the LFT-8b which was upgraded to the 8C’s. I have not written to Bruce in a while, but the ET arms are no longer in production, correct? I think I will be able to fit both the Terminator and the ET on my Verdier. Putting records in and out of the platter will be a challenge, but….

@ledoux1238

"You use a junction box to terminate the phono wires from the Terminator. Why don’t you run it direct to the phono stage?"

I used to use one piece cartridge to phono stage leads, but to get them flexible enough for the Terminator travel, meant very thin wire. I was using heavy XLR connectors at the time into a balanced phono stage that was a current rather than voltage amplifier (AQVOX 2Ci). I used to transport the deck to shows and have to set it up after every relocation. After snapping a couple of sets of leads I gave up on that idea. Even the weight of the metal XLR’s was enough to snap the leads.
I now have the short leads from the cartridge soldered direct to some RCA sockets mounted on the back of the arm block, these wires are ultra thin, the jacket on each is only 0.28mm diameter. The new silver interconnects are thicker and go between these RCA’s and my phono stage. This is a much more robust way of doing things and suits my requirements.

I don’t use the Molex connector which allows easy changing of Wand/cartridge, as I only use one set up. This at least removes one set of brushing contacts.

I don’t like the cable Andrey uses or his method of coiling/dressing it. But that’s nothing unusual, I didn’t like Vic’s method either.
I do my own thing and think my method offers less wire resistance or drag. The wire I use is both, lighter and more flexible, so a double whammy. I just ordered some more of this Wand wire, to have on hand, as the only supplier I've come across is in Portugal.

@qwin i too have a transimpedance / current mode phono, Channel D and an extra XLR  cable.  I do have to be careful when handling it. 

Prior to threading the wire through the pivot point, I pass the wire through the next hole closer to the counter weight. I was able to dress the  wire so that it clears the hole as it travels through the manifold. In other words, the wire and arm wand do not interact. I quest I have been forced to work with existing wire though your solution works well. 

I updated my air smoothing tank and its picture but this didn't post well and is not editable so Further explanation is required and a new picture.
I replaced the stock 5L tank with a chain saw plastic fuel can.
This has two compartments, 3L for two stroke Oil and 5L for petrol.
I fed the smaller tank from the pump and put Polystyrene balls in the tank, connected that to the larger tank and added an in-line filter after it all.
The idea of the Polystyrene balls is to create multiple paths of different lengths, with different arrival times. This would hopefully break up the pulses or at least increase the frequency of the pulses. It does seem to smooth the supply and with a quite compact set up.